Pietism
- Year
- 1675
- Kind
- Movement
What it was
A renewal movement within Lutheranism that, from Spener’s Pia Desideria (1675), stressed personal piety, small-group Bible study and holy living. From Halle and the Moravian community at Herrnhut it influenced missions and Methodism.
Little known
Halle missionaries Ziegenbalg and Plütschau reached Tranquebar (India) in 1706, almost ninety years before William Carey, and translated the New Testament into Tamil.
Key figures
- Philipp Jakob Spener1635–1705
- August Hermann Francke1663–1727
- Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf1700–1760
Key documents
- Pia Desideria (Spener)1675
- Renewal of the Moravian Church at Herrnhut1727